UW CSE News

In a front page article, the New York Times reports on booming interest in computer science across the nation.

“The new curriculums emphasize the breadth of careers that use computer science, as diverse as finance and linguistics, and the practical results of engineering, like iPhone apps, Pixar films and robots …

“Still, computer science graduates do not come close to filling the jobs available. Technology is one of the few bright spots in the economy, with jobs growing at double the rate of job growth over all, according to federal statistics …

“At Stanford, which has never lacked computer science students, majors nearly doubled after a new curriculum in 2008 let students choose a focus, like artificial intelligence. At the University of Washington, enrollment in the introductory computer science course is at a record high of 1,700. At Harvard, the size of the introductory computer science class has nearly quadrupled in five years …

“‘What we’re seeing now is a better-motivated upsurge,’ said Ed Lazowska, a professor of computer science and engineering at the University of Washington, ‘students who understand that they really need to know this material.’”

Read the terrific New York Times article here. Related background here, here, and here.